Lubricant drip preventer for a fifth wheel

ABSTRACT

An impervious trough surrounding a portion of the periphery of a fifth wheel. The trough is V-shaped, one side being formed by the edge surface of the fifth wheel, the other surface being formed by a band fastened to the edge surface. The band resides at an angle to the edge surface of about 45* to facilitate cleaning the trough. The upper edge of the band resides below the bearing surface of the fifth wheel to avoid interference therewith.

United States Patent [191 Cunha [451 Apr. 2, 1974 LUBRICANT DRIPPREVENTER FOR A FIFTH WHEEL [75] Inventor: Joseph J. Cunha, CastroValley,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Cunha Products, Inc., Hayward,

Calif.

[22] Filed: Jan. 26, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 326,674

[52] U.S. Cl 280/433, 184/106, 308/136 [51] Int. Cl B62d 53/08 [58]Field of Search 280/433, 125; 184/106;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1959 Phelps 184/10611/1960 Wood 280/433 3,000,653 9/1961 Wood 280/433 3,370,866 2/1968Mitchell et al. 280/404 3,463,512 8/1969 Hodgson 280/433 X 3,622,17311/1971 Hodgson 280/125 Primary Examiner-Leo Friaglia Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Naylor, Neal & Uilkema [57] ABSTRACT An impervious troughsurrounding a portion of the periphery of a fifth wheel. The trough is/-shaped, one side being formed by the edge surface of the fifth wheel,the other surface being formed by a band fastened to the edge surface.The band resides at an angle to the edge surface of about 45 tofacilitate cleaning the trough. The upper edge of the band resides belowthe bearing surface of the fifth wheel to avoid interference therewith.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures LUBRICANT DRIP PREVENTER FOR A FIFTH WHEELThis invention relates to a fifth wheel as is present on a tractor foreffecting connection of a semi-trailer thereto and more particularly toa lubricant drip preventer for such fifth wheel.

In order to afford free pivotal movement of a semitrailer with respectto the tractor that is pulling the semi-trailer, the rubbing surfaces ofthe fifth wheel connection therebetween are typically coated with athick viscous grease, or like lubricant. The rubbing surfaces aresubjected to substantial pressure, due to the weight of the load in thesemi-trailer, and are subject to rubbing movement during coupling of thesemi-trailer to the fifth wheel and due to the continual turning of thesemi-trailer with respect to the tractor. Accordingly, the lubricantthat is placed on such surfaces prior to connection of the semi-trailerto the tractor is extruded from the space between the surfaces duringuse of the tractor-semi-trailer combination. The location at which thelubricant is extruded is typically in vertical alignment above the hosesand cables that extend from the tractor to the trailer. Lubricantcontacting such hoses and cables renders inconvenient their connectionor disconnection and also collects dirt and may well deleteriouslyaffect the material of which the hoses and cables are made.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to providea structure for preventing such extruded lubricant from dripping fromthe fifth wheel connection. This object is achieved by providing aroundat least part of the periphery of the fifth wheel a lip that forms atrough which receives and retains such lubricant as is extruded frombetween the mating surfaces of the fifth wheel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a drippreventer that in no way interferes with the normal operation of thefifth wheel connection. The present invention achieves this objectbecause the drip preventer structure is located below the surface of thefifth wheel and forward of the axis of pivotal movement between theconnection whereby neither connection and disconnection procedure northe turning capability of the joint is impaired.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a drippreventer that can be added to existing fifth wheels or installed on newfifth wheels during fabrication thereof. The present invention affordsattainment of this object because the drip preventer is a trough that isdefined in part by the side or edge surface of the fifth wheel and inpart by a relatively narrow strap added to such surface.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a drippreventer so adapted that the lubricant received and retained therebycan be quickly and conveniently removed therefrom so that furtherlubricant extruded from the rubbing surfaces of the wheel will notoverflow the trough included in the present drip preventer. This objectis realized according to the present invention, as the trough that formsthe drip preventer preferably is a V-shaped trough wherein the angleincluded between the two surfaces of the trough is at least about 45degrees. Therefore, the sides of the trough are readily accessible toscraping tools.

The foregoing, together with other objects, features and advantages,will be more apparent after referring to the following specification andaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fifth wheel provided with a drippreventer according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the fifth wheel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the fifth wheel of FIG. 1; with phantom linesshowing a fragmentary representation of a semi-trailer attached thereto;and,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fifth wheel employing anotherembodiment of the present invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, reference numeral 12indicates a fifth wheel of conventional form which is mounted to therear end of a tractor (not shown) via a trunnion connection 14 thataffords pivotal movement about the axis of a pin 16 that forms part ofthe trunnion. As is conventional, fifth wheel 12 is formed by a rigidmember that defines a flat surface 18 on which bears and rubs acomplemental surface on a semi-trailer. The semi-trailer andcomplemental surface are shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3 and designatedby the numerals l7 and 19, respectively. Centrally of surface 18 is amechanism 20 for engaging a king-pin, shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3and designated 21, on the semi-trailer so that the semi-trailer issupported for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis throughthe mechanism 20. Thus, the semitrailer rubs on the surface 18 as thetractor turns with respect to the trailer. Also conventional forexpediting attachment of the semi-trailer to fifth wheel 12 is adownwardly sloping ramp 22 on the rear portion of the fifth wheel and acentrally located forwardly converging slot 24 which guides the king-pinon the semi-trailer to proper juxtaposition to element 20.

In order to facilitate coupling and pivotal movement of the semi-trailerwith respect to the fifth wheel, surface 18 is coated with thick greaseor like lubricant. As the trailer is subject to vibration and turningduring travel of the tractor-semi-trailer combination, the grease onsurface 18 is extruded from the space between the surface and thecomplemental surface on the semi-trailer. In accordance with the presentinvention, such extruded grease is caught and retained and is notpermitted to fall on the highway, over which the truck is proceeding,nor on the air hoses and/or electric cables that extend beneath thefifth wheel from the tractor to the trailer.

Flat surface 18 of the fifth wheel is peripherally bounded by peripheraledge surface 26 which is typically a member that is cast integral withsurface 18 and imparts strength to the entire fifth wheel structure.According to the present invention, there is secured to edge surface 26a strap or band 28 which can be made of steel so as to present animpervious surface to grease coming in contact therewith. Strap 28 iscut from a flat piece of steel in two identical sections and is thenwelded as at 30 to edge 26 of the fifth wheel. Conforming the strap tothe periphery of the fifth wheel causes it to assume an upward andoutward slope as seen most clearly in FIG. 3 so that there is definedbetween the surface of strap 28 and edge surface 26 a trough, identifiedby reference numeral 32. It will be noted that the trough is upwardlyopening and is of generally V-crosssectional shape, the angle includedbetween edge surface 26, and ,the strap 30 being an acute angle.Preferably, the angle is at least about 45 so that the grease, re-

ceived and retained within trough 32, can be rapidly removed therefromby a scraper or like tool.

In one structure, designed according to the present invention, strap 28is formed of two identical pieces of 16- or l8-gauge stainless steelwhich are installed symmetrically of the center line 33 of the fifthwheel. The straps are cut from sheet material at a radius of curvaturesuch that when mounted to edge surface 26 they will conform to theperiphery of the fifth wheel in a sloped position. Because of thisconstruction technique, a series of discrete spaced-apart weldments 30,30a, 30b suffice to retain strap 28 in place rather than necessitating acontinuous weld bead throughout the length of the strap.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, strap 28 terminates at a lateralextremity 34 that is forward of the axis of coupling mechanism andforward of the axis of pin 16 of trunnion 14. Moreover, as seen in FIG.3, the strap is confined within the vertical extremities of edge surface26 to the end that addition of the strap and the trough defined therebyin no way impairs the operation of the fifth wheel and its accoutermentsA modification is shown in FIG. 4 and similarly functioning parts areidentified by the same reference numerals as used in FIGS. 1 3 with theaddition, however, of a prime to each numeral. Thus, the fifth wheel 12of FIG. 4 has a fiat surface 18 which is bounded by an edge surface 26'.Cast integrally with fifth wheel 12 is a trough defining member 28 whichin cooperation with edge surface 26' defines a trough 32 thatcircumscribes the periphery of at least the front portion of the fifthwheel. As can be seen in FIG. 4, strap 28' has at the longitudinalcenter thereof a forward extending projection 35 which defines in trough32' a clearance space for a stud 36 that constitutes a part of couplingmechanism 20'. In installations in which the strap is added by weldingto edge surface 26 of the fifth wheel, the two individual sections thatconstitute a strap 28 can be spaced apart at the center 33 to define aclearance space for stud 36. A gap in trough 32 is formed thereby butsuch gap can be tolerated because the grease or like lubricant used onsurface 18 is typically so thick or viscous that it will not flow towardsuch gap as may exist in the trough.

In summary and recapitulation of the operation of the present invention,it should be appreciated that lubricant is first applied to surface 18,after which the tractor on which the fifth wheel is mounted backs.

toward the semi-trailer until engagement is achieved. Any lubricantextruded or scraped from surface 18 during such procedure will bereceived and retained in trough 32. As the tractor-semi-trailer unitproceeds, any further lubricant that is expelled or extruded from thespace between surface 18 andthe complemental surface on the semi-trailerwill be similarly received and retained within the trough. Accordingly,neither the hoses nor cables extending between the tractor and thesemi-trailer nor the road surface, over which the vehicle travels, willbe soiled by the grease.

Thus, it will be seen that the present invention provides a structurefor receiving and retaining lubricant that is inevitably extruded frombetween the fifth wheel and the complemental structure on thesemi-trailer attached to the fifth wheel. The structure of the inventionachieves its purpose in a simple, inexpensive manner which can beapplied to existing .wheels or to newly manufactured fifth wheels.Finally, the advantages of the invention are achieved without in any wayimpairing the normal operation of the fifth wheel.

Although two embodiments of the invention have been shown and described,it will be obvious that other adaptations and modifications can be madewithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

surface, the improvement comprising means for forming a troughcircumscribing the forward portion of said fifth wheel, said troughforming means residing below said flat surface, so that lubricantbetween said surfaces that is extruded from therebetween deposits insaid trough.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said trough forming means includesan edge member'depending from the periphery of said flat surface anddefining an edge surface generally normal to said flat surface, and animpervious band secured to said edge surface and extending upward andoutward from said edge surface at acute angle of at least about 45.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said band and said edge member areintegral.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said trough fonning means isconfined to the portion of said fifth wheel .forward of said axis.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said coupling means includes a studprojecting beyond the forward extremity of said flat surface and whereinsaid trough defining means includes a forward extending portion thatforms a clearance space for said stud.

6. In combination with a fifth wheel that is adapted for mounting on atractor for effecting coupling of a semi-trailer thereto, said fifthwheel having a flat surface and means for effecting attachment of thesemitrailer for pivotal movement about an axis normal to said flatsurface, said flat surface being at least partially bounded by adepending edge surface generally normal to said flat surface, saidsemi-trailer having a complementary surface that makes rubbing contactwith said flat surface, the improvement comprising a strap having asubstantially impervious surface and means for attaching said strap tosaid edge surface so that the angle between said impervious surface andsaid edge surface is an acute angle and so that an upward opening troughis defined between said impervious surface and said edge surfaceadjacent to and below said flat surface for receiving and retaininglubricant. extruded from between said flat surface and saidcomplementary surface.

7. A method for forming a drip preventer lip for a fifth wheel ofthe'type that has a flat bearing surface, a trailer coupling mechanismcentrally of said surface and an edge member perpendicularly dependingfrom at least the forward peripheral portion of the flat surface todefine an edge surface, the method comprising the steps of providing animpervious band having first and second generally parallel edges,deforming the band so that the first edge conforms to' the edge surface,and attaching the first edge of the band to the viding step includesproviding first and second identical band segments, and wherein saidattaching step includes attaching the segments on opposite sides of thecenter line of the fifth wheel in symmetry of the center line.

1. In combination with a fifth wheel that is adapted for mounting on atractor for effecting coupling of a semi-trailer thereto, said fifthwheel having a flat surface and means for effecting attachment of thesemi-trailer for pivotal movement about an axis normal to said flatsurface, said semi-trailer having a complementary surface that makesrubbing contact with said flat surface, the improvement comprising meansfor forming a trough circumscribing the forward portion of said fifthwheel, said trough forming means residing below said flat surface, sothat lubricant between said surfaces that is extruded from therebetweendeposits in said trough.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said troughforming means includes an edge member depending from the periphery ofsaid flat surface and defining an edge surface generally normal to saidflat surface, and an impervious band secured to said edge surface andextending upward and outward from said edge surface at acute angle of atleast about 45*.
 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said band and saidedge member are integral.
 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein saidtrough forming means is confined to the portion of said fifth wheelforward of said axis.
 5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said couplingmeans includes a stud projecting beyond the forward extremity of saidflat surface and wherein said trough defining means includes a forwardextending portion that forms a clearance space for said stud.
 6. Incombination with a fifth wheel that is adapted for mounting on a tractorfor effecting coupling of a semi-trailer thereto, said fifth wheelhaving a flat surface and means for effecting attachment of thesemi-trailer for pivotal movement about an axis normal to said flatsurface, said flat surface being at least partially bounded by adepending edge surface generally normal to said flat surface, saidsemi-trailer having a complementary surface that makes rubbing contactwith said flat surface, the improvement comprising a strap having asubstantially impervious surface and means for attaching said strap tosaid edge surface so that the angle between said impervious surface andsaid edge surface is an acute angle and so that an upward opening troughis defined between said impervious surface and said edge surfaceadjacent to and below said flat surface for receiving and retaininglubricant extruded from between said flat surface and said complementarysurface.
 7. A method for forming a drip preventer lip for a fifth wheelof the type that has a flat bearing surface, a trailer couplingmechanism centrally of said surface and an edge member perpendicularlydepending from at least the forward peripheral portion of the flatsurface to define an edge surface, the method comprising the steps ofproviding an impervious band having first and second generally paralleledges, deforming the band so that the first edge conforms to the edgesurface, and attaching the first edge of the band to the edge surface sothat the second edge of the band is below the flat surface and so thatthe band resides at an angle of at least about 45* to the edge surfaceto form an upward opening trough adjacent and below the periphery of theflat surface.
 8. A method according to claim 7 wherein said providingstep includes providing first and second identical band segments, andwherein said attaching step includes attaching the segments on oppositesides of the center line of the fifth wheel in symmetry of the centerline.